November 17-23, 2011, Current Events Lesson Plan
Current Event:
A comparison of the whiskers on a small South American marsupial, called the grey short-tailed opossum, with those of modern mice and rats have led researchers in the United Kingdom to believe that whiskers may have represented an important milestone in the development of the first mammals.
Whiskers are highly sensitive touch organs that transmit signals to the brain when they brush against objects. “Whisking” helps animals to feel their way through narrow or dark places. It also helps animals, particularly mice and rats, build maps of their surroundings. The researchers proposed that the first mammals developed whiskers to help them survive in the challenging environment of living among the dinosaurs that dominated the land areas of Earth.
Objective:
Reading the Behind the Headlines news story and related World Book articles will help students understand how animals adapt to their environments through evolution.
People and Places:
Vocabulary Terms:
Discussion Topics:
1. Ask your students if they have ever seen a pet or animal searching for food or exploring its surroundings. What did they notice about the animal’s whiskers? Did they even notice its whiskers?
2. “Whisking” is when the whiskers of animals brush against objects to help animals feel their way through narrow or dark places. Discuss with your students the other “tools” that animals have to survive. You might mention that a lion has retractable claws to keep them sharp for hunting. Or that dolphins can use echo-location to sense prey in dark conditions. Or that a stick insect uses mimicry and therefore is very difficult to tell apart from an actual stick.
3. The scientists are using their findings to help develop robots with artificial whiskers that could be used in search-and-rescue operations at disaster sites. Ask your students to describe what these robots might look like and what other features they might have that would help in these types of missions. You could also suggest that students draw and then explain their robot ideas.